Open house is Monday afternoon

By Molly McGowan / Times-News

Published: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 02:16 PM.

“We’ve cleaned up the property,” Crawford said. “We have flowers outside. We have picnic tables.”

She said in the last four months, Allied Churches staff have focused on what the shelter looks like inside and out, and Crawford wants clients — and community members — to take pride in the shelter as they would their own homes.

“There’s no reason why we as a city … shouldn’t have our community center look like a home,” she said.

The open house for the new Allied Churches’ Resource Center will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. at the main campus at 206 N. Fisher St. in Burlington. The event is open to the public.

In what will be an ongoing effort to consolidate resources and improve appearances, Allied Churches of Alamance County is relocating its drop-in Resource Center from Rauhut Street to the Fisher Street main campus, and is holding an open house Monday.

Allied Churches Executive Director Kim Crawford said the organization dis not renew its lease at the Rauhut Street location, where the drop-in center with computer access for job searches was previously situated.

“We’re saving money, we’re trying to be better stewards of our dollars, and be more effective and efficient,” Crawford said.

The change also eliminates the hike that shelter clients previously had to make from the Fisher Street shelter, as soon as it closed each day at 8 a.m.

Crawford said once the overnight shelter closes its doors in the morning, clients are expected to go apply for jobs, licenses, or work toward their GED online. That used to mean walking to Rauhut Street, but now the Resource Center with computers, resume help, housing and health referrals is in the back of the 206 N. Fisher St. building.

“The logic didn’t really follow to have to leave the building here and go up to Rauhut (Street) when we have the space here,” Crawford said. “What we decided to do was consolidate all of our resources and put all of our programming in one building.”

Monday’s open house will give Crawford and the Allied Churches staff a chance to give tours of the new space, and also to show off the improved aesthetics.

“We’ve cleaned up the property,” Crawford said. “We have flowers outside. We have picnic tables.”

She said in the last four months, Allied Churches staff have focused on what the shelter looks like inside and out, and Crawford wants clients — and community members — to take pride in the shelter as they would their own homes.

“There’s no reason why we as a city … shouldn’t have our community center look like a home,” she said.

The open house for the new Allied Churches’ Resource Center will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. at the main campus at 206 N. Fisher St. in Burlington. The event is open to the public.